Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-03-03
DOWN TO DEATH.
HOW MEN ARE DEcoYED IN THE
NAME OF CHARITY.

A Detective Tells why Persons Are Re-
ported Missing and Why Bodies Are
Found in the River - A Curious
Case.
'sWhat becomes Of the people who are re-
ported as missing?'' an old detective was
asked by a reporter at police headquarters.
sfWell, that is hard question to answer
Some leave the country to escape their
families, and others are killed in dives about
the CITY,"
s'Do many return after several years.
"Yes, have known cases where people
have been missing for twenty years, where
their wives have married again, and they
have returned to surprise, much more than
delight those who at first mourned their
loss. How some people disappear was ex-
planned to me several years ago in a case
which never became public. A young man
who was studying for the clergy was stand
ing one night in front of Wallack's theater,
waiting for the time when the performance
should begin, when young girl, shivering
in a thin dress and shawl, which scarcely
covered her shoulders, touched him on the
arm and begged him for Gods sake to give
her some money, as her mother was starv-
ing and she had no means by which to OBJ
tain food for her. The gentleman told the
girl that it was against rule he had made
ever to give money to people on the street.
The girl looked at him with pitiful ex-
preston, and begged him, If he did not be-
heve her story, to come to the house where
she lived, which was not far away, and see
for himself if the story she had told him Of
the starvation and want of her family was
not true.
TOUCHED WITH PITY.
Touched by the girls pathetic look the
Young man decided to follow her. She took
him around the corner of Thirteenth street,
nearly to Avenue A, to house with no
blinds in the windows, with shutters tum-
bling from their fastenings, and with bat
tered front door. She took him up one
flight of stairs to a room which was utterly
bare of furniture except one broken down
bed, which stood in a corner. On mantel
piece sputtered tallow candle, which only
gave light enough to show the deep dark
ness of the corners.
iShe told him she would go into the next
room and tell her mother that kind
stranger had come to see her. While she
was going she asked him to sit on the bed,
which was the only seat she had to offer.
The young man, Mortified at such poverty,
and never thinking of any evil results to
himself, seated himself on the edge of the
bed. Scarcely had he done so when two
arms reached out from under it and seized
him by the legs. With all his force he
could not keep himself from being dragged
under. He threw himself back and at
tempted to grasp the edge of the bed, but in
the position in which he was he could do
nothing. Slowly but surely he felt himself
dragged downward by the powerful arms.
GAS his hand slipped from one hold in the
bed TO the other they happened to touch the
heavy walking stick which he carried. As
a last resort he seized the cane and with all
his strength thrust it under the bed. The
heavy iron ferule with which the end of the
cane was loaded, came in contact with some
thing soft. A horrible curse filed the room.
With desperate energy the young man
again and again thrust the cane into the
darkness under the bed Slowly the wise
like grip of the hands which held his legs
relaxed. He made one final and desperate
effort and found himself free. He rushed
downstairs and from the house.
LAUGHED AT HIM
'FWhen he reached the corner, he thought
that, disheveled and hatless as he was, it
was impossible for him to go home Seeing
q policem"- on the next block, he went to
him and I'D him of the experience he had
had The off ,er laughed at him and insin-
uated that he had better go home and take
nothing more to drink. But when he
found the young man was really in ear
nest, he called for help and at once returned
to the house which the young man pointed
out as the one in which he had been as
l%ol I-oI %
it was opened by man who had every ap-
pearance of Just having been awakened
from sound sleep. The young man in
sisted on going upstairs, and followed by
the police he rushed up and into the room
which he had lately left. In it there was
nothing that he could recognize or identify
A carpet covered the floor, pictures were
hanging on the walls, piano stood in one
corner, and everything looked as if it had
been recently occupied by woman of re-
fined tastes. The young man was astounded
ty the change and tried TO explain that be
must have got into the wrong house. The
police returned to their original theory that
the young man had been drinking and again
advised him to go home
''There is no question in my mind that
IL the young man had not been successful
in breaking away from the grip of the man
who held him from under the bed, another
unknown body with nothing to identify it
would have been found floating in the river,
and would have been buried in Potter's
Field, unknown and uncared for, while
another one Of the mysterious disappear
ances, which so often thrill the New York
public, would have had its nine days run
of wonder and then have been forgotten. -
New York Mail and ExDress
An Estate in China.